FIFA to choose 2022 World Cup dates, start 2026 bid tal...

Jozy Altidore's valuable penalty prowess; Americans Abroad

Jozy Altidore celebrates after scoring one of his three goals (two on penalty kicks) Sunday.

One of the most underrated questions of the post-Landon Donovan era -- whenever it begins -- for the U.S. men's national team is who will take the reins from the penalty spot.

Donovan has dutifully accepted and excelled in the role of penalty taker, most notably converting in a pressure situation against Ghana in the knockout stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to level the score. It is practically a given that if he is on the field if the U.S draws a penalty, he'll step to the spot and get the job done.

Perhaps it is because the U.S. doesn't draw penalties all that often -- the Americans have only made two PKs since that Ghana game almost three years ago -- that the penalty responsibilities have gone overlooked, but the team's staying power in a competition could hinge on a spot kick, and it is worth exploring the few options that Jurgen Klinsmann has at his disposal.

Could Jozy Altidore be the answer? With two successful conversions from the spot within a matter of six minutes during his Sunday hat trick, Altidore improved to four-for-four on penalties this season. He is essentially the only high-profile national-team player who has been taking penalties with any semblance of regularity for his club.

He has shown the thick skin to calmly and confidently finish a penalty amid racist chants from opposing fans during his heroic showing at Den Bosch in a Dutch Cup match in January. His approach Sunday was a no-nonsense one, a short-stepped run-up followed by a well-placed right-footed blast. Altidore has limited experience taking penalties on the international level, but his last goal for the U.S. was from the spot, a successful conversion against Slovenia in November 2011.

As for other candidates, Clint Dempsey has been notoriously iffy. Despite his two-goal showing to lift Tottenham into extra time of the Europa League quarterfinals, he was not selected among the top four shooters by Andre Villas-Boas for the shootout. Whether he would have been granted the fifth kick, we'll never know, because Spurs' inefficiency coupled with Basel's clinical finishing meant that neither Dempsey nor one of his teammates received the chance to be that fifth shooter. He has converted for the national team in the last year, taking a penalty against Antigua & Barbuda in June, but his track record is not that of Donovan's hands-down successor.

Herculez Gomez was given the chance to take a penalty for Santos Laguna in February, but he is not the club's go-to guy and missed his chance from the spot. Michael Bradley does not take penalties for Roma. Eddie Johnson does not take penalties for the Seattle Sounders, and when he last stepped to the spot, in last summer's U.S. Open Cup final penalty shootout, he blasted his chance over the bar.

If the limited sample size is what Klinsmann has to go off, then the evidence is pretty telling. Considering the alternatives, Altidore, 23, would figure to be the top penalty-taking option for the post-Donovan U.S.

Altidore's third hat trick of the season and Dempsey's two-goal performance were the highlights of the past week, which also saw DaMarcus Beasley maintain his form with another goal for Puebla, while Gomez and Santos Laguna cemented their place in the CONCACAF Champions League final for the second straight season. Here is how the Americans abroad contingent fared overall (season statistics encompass all competitions):

Cody Cropper, GK, Southampton -- Not in the 18 for Southampton's 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday.
SEASON: 0 games

Clint Dempsey, M/F, Tottenham -- Started, played 120 minutes, picked up a yellow card and scored two goals in Tottenham's 2-2 draw with FC Basel in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarterfinal tie. Tottenham fell 4-1 on penalties after the teams played to a 4-4 aggregate draw and was eliminated. Dempsey pounced on a mistake by a Basel defender on an attempted through ball, rounded the keeper and scored in the 23rd minute, and he toe poked a ball home in the 82nd minute to force extra time.
SEASON: 37 games, 27 starts, 10 goals

Brad Friedel, GK, Tottenham -- Started, played 120 minutes and made six saves in Tottenham's 2-2 draw with FC Basel in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal.
SEASON: 20 games, 20 starts, 30 goals allowed, 2 clean sheets

Stuart Holden, M, Sheffield Wednesday -- Not in the 18 for Sheffield Wednesday's 2-1 win over Millwall on Tuesday. Holden started and played 72 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Leeds United on Saturday.
SEASON: 6 games, 3 starts (3 games with Bolton)

Tim Ream, D, Bolton -- In the 18, did not play in Bolton's 2-1 win over Bristol City on Saturday.
SEASON: 16 games, 14 starts

Jonathan Spector, D/M, Birmingham City -- Not in the 18 for Birmingham's 2-2 draw with Leicester City on Friday.
SEASON: 30 games, 26 starts, 1 goal

Oguchi Onyewu, D, Malaga -- Not in the 18 for Malaga's 3-2 loss (3-2 on aggregate) to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal Tuesday. Malaga was eliminated in controversial fashion, with Dortmund's second stoppage-time goal appearing to be offside. Onyewu was also not in the 18 for a 1-0 win over Osasuna in league play Saturday.
SEASON: 8 games, 7 starts, 2 goals

Jozy Altidore, F, AZ Alkmaar -- Started, played 90 minutes and netted a hat trick an AZ's 6-0 win over FC Utrecht on Sunday. Altidore hit twice from the penalty spot before connecting for a close-range header, all in a nine-minute span, his third hat trick.
SEASON: 38 games, 38 starts, 28 goals

Belgium

Pro League

Sacha Kljestan, M, RSC Anderlecht -- Started, played 90 minutes and picked up a yellow card in Anderlecht's 1-1 draw with Club Brugge in the third game of the Belgian playoffs Sunday.
SEASON: 42 games, 35 starts, 2 goals

DaMarcus Beasley, M, Puebla -- In the 18, came on as a halftime substitute and scored a 69th-minute goal in Puebla's 2-1 loss to Jaguares on Sunday. Beasley one-timed a headed-down ball from inside the box to level the score at the time.
SEASON: 18 games, 13 starts, 5 goals

Jonathan Bornstein, D, Tigres UANL -- Not in the 18 for Tigres' 2-1 loss to Pumas UNAM on Sunday, their first loss in 14 Clausura matches this season.
SEASON: 1 game, 1 start

Edgar Castillo, D, Tijuana -- Not in the 18 for Tijuana's 1-0 win over Millonarios in the final game of the Copa Libertadores group stage Wednesday. Tijuana finished tied with Corinthians atop Group 5 on points but behind on goal differential and qualified for the knockout stage as a group runner-up. Castillo started and played 90 minutes in a 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul in league play Saturday.
SEASON: 13 games, 13 starts, 1 goal

Joe Corona, M, Tijuana -- Not in the 18 for Tijuana's 1-0 win over Millonarios in the Copa Libertadores group stage finale. Corona started and played 90 minutes in a 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul in league play.
SEASON: 16 games, 12 starts, 1 goal

Greg Garza, D/M, Tijuana -- Started, played 90 minutes in Tijuana's 1-0 win over Millonarios in the Copa Libertadores group stage finale. Garza was not in the 18 for a 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul in league play.
SEASON: 6 games, 3 starts

Herculez Gomez, F, Santos Laguna -- Started, played 90 minutes in Santos Laguna's 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal tie Tuesday. Santos Laguna advanced on a 2-1 aggregate and will face Monterrey in the final in a rematch of last year's regional title bout. Gomez was in the 18 and came on as a 62nd-minute substitute in a 2-1 win over Toluca in league play Friday.
SEASON: 18 games, 17 starts, 6 goals

Benji Joya, M, Santos Laguna -- Not in the 18 for Santos Laguna's 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders in the second leg of their CCL semifinal or a 2-1 win over Toluca in league play.
SEASON: 0 games

Charlie Davies, F, Randers FC -- In the 18, came on as an 82nd-minute substitute in Randers' 1-0 win over Horsens in the first leg of their Danish Cup semifinal Wednesday. Davies was also in the 18 and came on as a 66th-minute substitute in a 4-0 loss to Esbjerg in league play Sunday.
SEASON: 23 games, 3 starts

Clarence Goodson, D, Brondby IF -- In the 18, did not play in Brondby's 3-0 loss to Sonderjyske on Sunday.
SEASON: 18 games, 17 starts, 1 goal